Lilo's War
by Alrissa
Summary: Experiments handled and Ohana restored Lilo now spends her time juggling her duties as Ambassador with school and play time. But there is trouble brewing in the galaxy and she'll place herself right smack in the middle of it. Because it's the right thing to do. Rated Mature for war, death and violence.
1. Chapter 1

The Palakai house was in much better repair than in the past few years. The rotating dome on top of the house sported a modern telescope and a subtly shaded satellite dish, the roof below it shone with the bright red of freshly replaced shingles, the blue paint on the walls was clean and crisp while the boards and beams of the stairs and banister showed none of the minute lines that used to tell where the shattered wood had been glued or nailed back together. Beneath the house, under the living room floor, the previously open-air parking spot was now walled up and turned into an actual garage.

The automatic doors of said garage opened and an old jeep with a shiny new olive coat of paint and the Kokauaa Hotels Conglomerate logo displayed proudly on the doors purred smoothly out of the garage and sped down the paved road access and off to town.

A black haired ten year old girl rushed out the front doors holding a lunch bag and sighed at the rapidly retreating car.

"Naaani!" She called out futilely and sighed. "You forgot your lunch again." She mumbled and walked sullenly down the stairs. She adjusted the red and neon green backpack on her left shoulder, unzipped the outer pocket and slid the bag inside.

"And she calls me lolo." She grumbled. "She is lolo."

"Naga Shaa Lilo." her odd blue furred, koala like friend and companion soothed. "We can bring lunch during lunch. Nani very busy."

"I know it's not my fault Stitch but she is wearing herself thin. Literally. I sneaked a peek at her bathroom scale last week and she lost seven pounds." The raven haired girl complained. "And if I bring her lunch I won't have time to take mine."

"Lilo?" A high pitched voice called out from the house. "Are you ready for school yet?"

"I'm already heading out Pleakley!" She called back.

"Be a dear and pick up a pineapple for me and a bunch of sixteen ohm resistors for Juumba on your way back." Pleakley asked, sticking his head out the window and waving a bill. With one eye, a clearly fake wig, body thin as a pole and three legs you'd think he'd stick out in Hawaii. Nobody ever remarks on it because it's apparently rude to point out birth defects of foregners. Because aliens? Just silly.

"No problem!" Lilo accepted, glancing at Stitch who nodded in agreement.

The blue, koala bear like alien climbed up the side rail and snatched the bill.

"Excellent! Keep the change and buy something nice for yourself!" Pleakley called out and disappeared back into the house

"Ooo boutifa! Franklin." Stitch exclaimed as he slid back down the banister where Lilo was already adjusting her helmet.

"Stitch ride the Velociraptor Thirteen Hundred today?" He pleaded as he handed the bill to Lilo.

"No Stitch, remember what happened when you rode my old twelve H?" Lilo cautioned as she pulled the Velociraptor skateboard out of its storage compartment under the stairs. She pressed her thumb to the bottom of the skateboard, just below the rear wheels. A light flashed inside the wheels and the Velociraptor beeped.

"Welcome Lilo. Jumba tech prototype Velociraptor mark three servo assist wheels enabled. Power enhancement is set, at, fifty percent." The skateboard spoke with a mechanical voice.

Stitch sighed as he pulled Lilo's old skateboard from below the stairs.

"Naga Bu Anda," he grumbled, and kicked a rock his shoulders slumping. "Lilo Jungabei."

Lilo smiled and crouched down slightly to give him a hug, squeezing and then lifting his hundred pound bulk of the ground. She smiled when he returned the hug, he still smelled like Cinnamon.

He's been using the same shampoo for three years now and refuses to use any other. She smiled. Her friend could be a bit vain at times but she loved him even with all the flaws. She finally set him down and looked him in the eye.

"Don't be like that. You are still faster than me even when I use the power enhancement system. I need the Velociraptor's slick aerodynamic lines and Juumba's tricked out wheels just to keep up with your super powers." She cooed at him and he laughed, disgruntlement fading away.

"Lilo plenty strong. Stronger than silly girls, faster than boys, smarter than adults." Stitch chided and scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Fact: Lilo work herself so strong and fast Stitch only give five second head start for race to school from now."

"Hey! That's not..." Lilo started to complain and Stitch just grinned at her as she paused to consider what he was saying. The fact was, she had started beating him to the school check point about every other time lately. Sure she was using alien technology and he was just using her old skateboard but still, this was Stitch she was racing. A large smile spread across her face as she tossed her board forward for a running start.

"Last one to school does laundry!"

* * *

Later that day in Kokaua middle school the clock on the classroom wall was ticking backwards for every two ticks forward, or at least that was what it seemed like to Lilo. She glanced at the recently re-christened Myrtle's Maidens struggling with the math and shook her head. She had been excited when she placed for all the advanced classes but then she saw how they made it into advanced class with Myrtle and knew her doom.

Her own test filled out and re-re-re-checked six minutes ago she was now amusing herself doodling the school getting sucked into those black hole vectors Juumba drew for her when she asked how exactly Holio could do what he did.

The school getting slowly sucked into a black hole was the only explanation for the time dilation she was experiencing. It was Friday, she was stuck in school going over things she mastered last year, she had tons of paperwork waiting at home, a Galactic Council Session was on Monday and Nani was still working from sunrise to midnight. Weren't executives supposed to be having an easier time than the grunts?

She glanced up at the clock. Ten whole minutes to go. Around the classroom others were in the last stretch their own work and a low whispers could be heard.

"Psst! Wierdlo! Pass this to my Maidens." Lilo turned around. Myrtle, the glasses wearing redhead has been her frienemy for the last six years ever since that incident in the kindergarten. The redhead was vicous but she was also smart and charming when she wanted to be. Lilo glanced at the note, at Myrtle and at her struggling friends. With a sigh she reached for the note and took it. Taking notes from Myrtle was slightly safer ever since she took the precaution of buying dark green graphite from overseas and using it for her class work.

"Class! Quiet down!" The teacher called out. "Lilo, Myrtle. I saw that. Hand in your tests right now and go outside. I don't care what you are doing but it can't be good for class discipline."

Lilo opened her mouth to complain and then stopped her brows frowning in confusion. She couldn't actually see any negative consequences here. She glanced at Myrtle who was already packing. Lilo grabbed her own bag and filled it with a practiced sweep of her hand. Ten seconds later the tests were deposited on the desk and the girls were leaving the classroom. Had the teacher actually winked at her as they left the classroom?

"So... Wierdlo... You going to lunch or are your family too poor to feed you now?" Myrtle asked innocently as they walked down the hallway.

"You know as well as I do Nani is head of the PR department for the Kokaua Town Hotel Association." Lilo frowned. Myrtle did know it since her cousin worked for Nani. So what was her angle.

"So you will be bugging me to sit with you then?" The redhead sniffed haughtily adjusting her slender, gold rimmed spectacles and Lilo chuckled in understanding.

"Will you cut that out Myrtle. We're alone." Lilo nudged her redhead companion slightly. "How can you be so smart and have such a weird compulsion?"

"I'm a rich heiress, at worst I can be eccentric. Weirdness is your domain my dear Weirdlo. In my world if you do not adhere to certain standards you get eaten alive." The slightly taller girl growled as they reached the school storage lockers.

"Uhuh. So you don't think verbally tearing people to shreds is amusing?" Lilo asked as she opened her locker and upended the contents of her bag onto the bottom shelf.

"Of course I do." The heiress said haughtily, carefully arranging her books. She glanced at Lilo, hesitated and then forged ahead.

"What I can never get is why do you still forgive me?" Mytle spoke quietly as she shut her locker, her back turned towards Lilo. The raven haired girl looked at Myrtle and carefully considered her words.

"Yappers told you what Stitch is right?" Lilo asked fishing into the pile of disorganized stuff and pulling out a bulky new cell phone.

"Of course. After everything I saw? You bet I asked. Sometimes I am amazed we're all still alive. What does that have to do with me?" The redhead asked, fiddling with her key-chain, still facing away. Lilo put her hand on her friend's shoulder and Myrtle stiffened as Lilo spoke gently.

"I have known you all my life Myrtle. Ever since we fought for the wardrobe spot in kindergarten. You too need a place where you belong, razor sharp tongue and all." Lilo spoke in a slightly teasing tone.

"Are you comparing my loquacious skills with a genetically programmed weapon of mass destruction?" Mytle took an astonished step away and turned to look Lilo in the eye, blushing slightly. "That's both the weirdest and the coolest thing you ever said to me. We will never speak of this again on pain of death."

She pushed past Lilo and headed for the lunch room a scowl firmly in place. She paused in the middle of the hallway and looked over the shoulder with a raised eyebrow.

Lilo chuckled to herself and joined her even as she lifted the phone and dialed a number from memory.

"Hello? Classy Kokawa Catering? This is Lilo Palakai I am checking my one o'clock order for Nani Palakai at the... Yes. Thank you. charge it to the... Yes that's right. Fries and a milkshake with the shrimp. Yes. The message is correct if a little mushy just make sure she gets it word for word. I will. Thank you."

With a beep Lilo put the bulky cell phone into her bag.

"I didn't know you had a cell phone Li... Weirdlo." A wide eyed Myrtle choked out.

"Executive perks." The phone owner smirked. She actually bough it with her own salary but if Myrtle found out she had ambassador status and went to space regularly on galactic business she'd blow a fuse.

"Great, now I have to get one too." Myrtle groaned. "My poor allowance."

"Myrtle your uncle has you on an allowance that could pay the electricity bill for the whole city." Lilo retorted. "What's the big deal."

"I have investments. And... chrty." The young socialite mumbled quietly.

"What was that Myrts?"

"Charity. I have obligations to charity this month." Myrtle spat out.

"Obligations?" Lilo asked with a smile.

"Fine I blew most my allowance on that stupid feed the children crud, my investments are in a delicate state and I can't afford to sell any stock.." Myrtle growled. "I'll have to ask for an advance and my uncle will give me a two hour lecture on budgeting and fiscal responsibility. Hello? I have my own subscription to Financial Times and a direct line to the New York stock exchange in my room!" The redhead hissed.

Lilo kept quiet for a moment making a mental note to avoid walking into that verbal minefield. Myrtle had her own stress it seemed. And she had been so happy when her uncle officially named her his heiress.

"Hey, I can keep the phone a secret if you want." She offered.

"Yeah right like you could." An automatic retort came from the sulky redhead.

"I had the phone for four months now." Lilo offered.

"Oh and you chose this time to brag..."

Lilo cut her off with a gesture.

"I trust you. I don't trust teachers to let me keep it in school." She spoke softly, staring the grumpy heiress right in the eye.

Myrtle was quiet as they picked up their lunch. She was smart, and she was tough but Lilo had come to realize a long time ago that befriending Myrtle would be like befriending a tiger. Exciting but dangerous. And took a lot of meat. By now Myrtle had half a dozen of her lesser secrets and so far not one of them has been used against her.

"Thanks Lilo." She murmured as the bell rang.

"Don't mention it. Myrtle."

When the classes ended The Maidens were surprised to find Myrtle and Lilo sitting together but adapted quickly to the truce.

Inwardly Lilo wished all her efforts were going this smoothly. She had like a jazzillion GalMails to sort through, the FTL transceiver Juumba patched together was being wonky again and Nani was really starting to worry her. At least Myrtle only had to worry about being passed over for the inheritance of a banana-coconut empire.

If she messed up, someone might invade.

* * *

Later that evening Hawaii was proving once again to be a perfect place to live. The night was beautiful, the breeze carried the scent of flowers everywhere and the stars were twinkling brightly. A perfect evening to lounge around outside in the hammock. Unfortunately for Lilo she was only half way through with wading through her paperwork.

The round bedroom was dimly lit by the greenish glow of the 3D computer screen and Lilo was typing away busily. On her left was a Galactic to English dictionary, an etiquette book on Council Conduct and the abridged version of Galactic Law, on her right was a somewhat dried, half eaten sandwich she was supposed to have eaten two hours ago.

"Li~iloo." Stitch growled lying on his back with a pillow stuck on his face.

"Hey, I know this stuff is boring but I have to put up with paperwork and stuffy books for a few hours so we can play zero G zombie space pirates in the zero G chamber after the Council Session." Lilo glanced at her blue furred friend for a second smiling at his antics before typing that she would be delighted to indulge the Inkidian Ambassador's request for a genuine Earth slinkie for his spawn.

"Lilo have more schoolwork too." Stitch complained his ears drooping.

"I know, but Nani insists. A average, schoolwork first or no off world Galactic Council Sessions for you young lady." The ten year old ambassador imitated her sister with an exaggerated scowl.

"Silly Nani. Lilo have job not just play in space." He said looking around the room for something to do while Lilo was busy. His glance landed on his own personal toy chest and he jumped off the bed to root around.

"Yeah, honorary ambassador or not it's up to me to represent Earth. I'm just glad The Agency decided to honor my status Earthside and exchange some of those credits for real cash." The beep of an incoming message drew Lilo's attention and her eyes narrowed as she read it.

"Emba chua!" Stitch agreed lifting up his last birthday gift in triumph. "Gotta catch em all!"

"Hey Stitch, before you turn on that gameboy hand me that copy of Galactic Economics for Dummies? Something weird came up on Maloosa."

"Vampires?" He asked hopefully.

"Naah, some sort of mining dispute. Apparently I have 0.006% stake in all Maloosan mining and my broker thinks I should bring it up during council."

"Aka?" He asked, head tilting to the side.

"It was in that investment package Juumba put together a few years back." Lilo shrugged. "Something about avoiding taxes and Galactic University, apparently it might pay off or something."

* * *

"Lilo! Dinner!" A voice called out from downstairs and Stitch's ears perked up as he glanced at Lilo. The girl continued typing her hands flying across the keyboard relentlessly. With a sigh he hopped off his bed and tugged on her leg, breaking her concentration.

"Stitch? What do..." She frowned, startled. He wasn't usually this impatient.

"Nani home for dinner." He stated simply and then Lilo's infectious grin caused him to smile.

Quickly saving her work she hopped off her chair, pulled him to the elevator pad and proceeded to jump up and down on it in an attempt to make it go faster.

The elevator dropped swiftly as always and Lilo rushed barefoot towards the kitchen. And there she was, setting the table while wearing her business skirt and a partially undone shirt. Necktie and jacket slung over the chair carelessly. Nani looked unusually cheerful and energetic.

"Nani?" Lilo muttered. Her sister looked up and smiled at her.

"Hey Lilo! Guess what!"

Synapses triggered and a chain of thought extrapolated from past events resulting in Lilo rushing across the kitchen and throwing herself at her sister knocking her to the floor.

"Nani, Nani!" She called out snuggling into her sister's shoulder.

"Lilo? What's gotten into you?"

"Hey hey. What's this?" Juumba, the mad scientist alien with two secondary eyes and limbs the size of tree trunks asked as he entered the kitchen. "Has little girl been playing with time machine again?"

Lilo looked at him like he had grown another head and a disgusted look in her eye.

"No, Nani finished the mega-project and if the CFO gave her less than two weeks off I'm personally kicking his butt."

"Lilo?" Nani asked still stuck sitting on the floor with her growing sister snuggled in her lap. "Was it really that bad?"

Pleakley looked like he had something to say but Juumba grabbed him in a wrestling hold, covered his face (and mouth) with his hand and carried him out of the kitchen following a tip toe-ing Stitch.

"You did get that note right?" Lilo asked leaning back and raising an eyebrow.

"Oh Yeah, that one gets you a 'get out of grounding free card'. The negotiations were about to stall over lunch and I realized I forgot to organize food for the clients and that they would scatter all over the island for lunch. I was quietly freaking out about looking incompetent and loosing their focus when my secretary quietly informs me that the jumbo sized seafood platter was here. You, my little lolo, made me look like I had planned on a working lunch and so they all decided to 'follow my exemplary work ethic'. The note made my day. Sharing my milkshake with that Japanese Cruise line representative might have helped seal the deal too." Nani told her sister ruffling her hair.

"Well, I'm glad I could help but I meant it! You need to eat more, you are starting to look like one of those skeletal girls in those creepy fashion magazines. You work more now then when you were renting canoes..." Lilo trailed off. "I worry."

Nani blushed. Running the palm of her free hand down her thighs. Those models _were_ on the thin side of things.

"Well, your worries are over. For the next thirty days? I'm a stay at home sister. We might even take that flight to Graceland we talked about."

"For real Awesome!?" the elvis fan exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah, now let's get to that dinner, I'm starving. Hey Juumba! Get back in here! Mushy sister stuff is over!"

"My roast!" A loud gasp was heard form the living room and a suddenly freed Pleakley dashed into the kitchen with an intent look upon his face.


	2. Chapter 2

The dinner was a cheerful affair and Lilo loved every moment of it. Despite Pleakley's panicked fears for the worst the roast was pretty good. Not that Lilo cared about the food, she was too busy staring at the way laughter erased all those stress lines from Nani's forehead.

"And you squirt? How is your job doing?" Nani teased.

"Well. Some mining dispute I got notice of from my broker also popped up in the Council agenda and I don't get what the big deal is. Hey Juumba what does Cilanium do anyways? I couldn't get on the GalNet again but I think you mentioned extracting it from your ship engines once?"

"Cilanium? The miners on Palik seven pushing for a price increase again?" Jumba asked taking a large bite out of his roast. Plakley tutted at the uncouth display and sipped his tea daintily.

"No apparently there were large deposits of it discovered deep in the planetary mantle on Maloosa and now everyone is in an uproar." Lilo shrugged.

Pleakley sprayed his tea all over Juumba and his roast and then started choking. Juumba blinked at Lilo for a moment and swallowed his bite.

"How big a deposit are we talking about." He inquired carefully putting away his roast even as Pleakley stopped coughing.

"At least as big as Palik Seven." Lilo replied and Juumba's eyes widened while Pleakley hyperventilated and fumbled with his inhaler.

"Little girl answer carefully. Why broker notify Little Girl?" Jumba asks quietly a glimpse of suspicion in his eye.

"Well apparently I own zero point zero zero six percent in all Maloosan mining and half of any related shipping. Of course the shipping company consists of a single ancient relic of a freighter but it gets me a huge tax break."

"And Council?" Juumba asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Some sort of dispute about Malakai ancestors colonizing Maloosa half a million years ago before they blew themselves up the first time."

"Oi..." Jumba sighed and dragged a palm across his face while Pleakley finally managed to get his inhaler.

"What's the big deal?" Nani asked, a puzzled frown on her face.

"Ah... how to explain this. Cilanium is to galaxy like oil to earth. Hyper-drive must have Cilanium to enter Seven Dimensional Ocean of Space-Time." He paused at the analogy and waved his hand vaguely. "If, you know, earth had only six oil wells and oil can blow up suns when refined."

"And Malakai?" Asked Lilo while Nani listened enraptured. "I don't remember them from the list of Federation species."

"Malakai Republic not member of Federation. They is having empire in upper half of second spiral arm clockwise. Got beat in war against Federation a few hundred years ago. Biiig Fight. They say changed to Republic but all seats belong to ruling clan. Still empire just beeing making more polite face."

"And Evil! Malakai own slaves! And make everyone dress in uniform according to caste! No fashion industry at all! EVIL!" Pleakly exclaimed, one hand still clutching his Calm(TM) brand zeta-blocker inhaler.

"So what does that mean for Lilo?" Nani asked finally.

"If all goes well Lilo never have to worry about school, buying a home, food or travel expenses once mining starts in six or seven years." Juumba explained.

"Ha!" Plakely laughed. "Even with such small amounts she'd still easily be making two times her current income while doing nothing."

"Wait. Hold on. Stock broker? Lilo? You said you get three hundred credits in ambassadorial allowance?" Nani asked threateningly.

Juumba laughed. "Yes but when you go grocery shopping you pay in DeciCredits."

"Lilo? How much is that in earth money?" Nani asked wavering between puzzlement, pride and anger.

Juumba beamed proudly while Pleakley chuckled. Lilo stared at the floor and fidgeted.

"Liilooo? How much is a galactic credit worth?" Nani asked politely in a sweet, non-threatening tone of voice. It was the dreaded answer or else voice.

"About sixty bucks." Lilo mumbled. "The exchange rate is kinda finicky."

Nani stared at her cute little sister for a long moment doing some quick math in her head. _'Lets seeSixty bucks time hundred, times three, Eighteen thousand dollars a month?!'_ She coughed and then looked at her little sister.

"Why would you hide a six figure salary from me?" Nani finally asked choking a little on the words.

"Well. I didn't. Not really. I mean I've been paying for stuff that gets broken. And the new roof. And toys for Stitch and stuff."

"Well yes, but how did I miss this?" Nani asked herself. "It's... I mean. How? You. I mean I knew that you... I mean." Nani finally chuckled and ruffled Lilo's hair. "I've been steadily climbing the executive branch for three years and you earn more money than I do. At ten? How'd that happen? What else did I miss?"

"You aren't mad?" Lilo asked peeking under her hair.

"No you lolo? Why would I be mad?" Nani chuckled and hugged her little sister. _"I am just wondering what else I missed getting caught up in my work."_ She wonders.

"Well you always used to get mad about money. Especially when how you yelled when I tried to give back the allowance you gave me." Lilo sniffled.

"Oh I'm sorry Lilo. It wasn't about you. I felt like a failure when my sister thought she had to give up her allowance because I wasn't doing well enough and I got angry. We talked about this. I apologized. We had pizza and everything." Nani denied looking sheepish.

"I know... But I still didn't want you to feel bad about money like that time so I didn't say anything." The little sister shrugged.

"Lilo you lolo." Nani Laughed, leaned over and blew a raspberry on Lilo's shoulder.

"Eeek Quit it." Lilo protested.

"Oh no you don't I am a big bad raspberry-tickle monster and I am kidnapping you for ransom." A sinister expression appears on Nani's face as she grabs her little sister half halfheartedly.

"Aaaah Nani! Noooo!" Lilo squirmed out of Nani's reach and dashed for the living room Nani in hot pursuit.

"You can afford ransom now! Revenge for all those broken windows is at hand!" His maniackal laughter echoed around the house as the sisters played.

Juumba Stitch and Pleakley exchanged looks and went back to dinner.

So.. You've been quiet six two six." Juumba asked as he continued demolishing his roast. His favorite experiment was politely eating and staring through the window where Nani and Lilo were indulging in horseplay.

"Lilo is... changing." He finally said. "Doesn't need silly Stich as much. Needs smart stitch more."

"So your manipulative adaptation instinct needs fine tuning?" Juumba teased.

"Manipulative adaptation?" Plakley wondered.

"Yes, Stitch is programed to be able to appear harmless to inhabitants of objective until they were off guard so he could destroy them." Juumba elaborated. "So he has been using that knowledge to achieve to his primary objective."

Pleakley gasped. "And I started to like the little monster!"

"Juumba make it sound bad." Stitch complained.

"How can... You just admitted he's..." The excitable alien spluttered.

"Oh will you relax Pleakley. Stitch List your tactical side's current objectives, if you would." Juumba asked politely. Stitch looked at his maker for a long moment and then sighed his eyes getting a slightly glassy look.

"Primary objective: Make Lilo happy. Secondary objective: Protect Ohana. Tertiary objective: Classified under Lilo Purple Pirate Pancreas Promise of Doom" He recited absently.

"Is one eyed silly seeing? Stitch is good monster now." Juumba chuckled.

"I don't know, what about his destructive tendencies?" Pleakley asked teasingly. "He still does more damage to my laundry than a swarm of moths."

"Combat Protocols locked, restriction Lilo Green is in effe..." Stitch continued and then coughed looking embarrassed.

"Six Two Six?" Inquired Juumba puzzled.

"Stich have brain like supercomputer but supercomputer not Stitch." The fluffy doomsday construct explains looking slightly embarrassed to admit it.

"What did you do?" Juumba asked in awe.

"All computers can be hacked." Stitch stated.

"But how?!" An astounded Jummba wonders knowing he never programed this.

"Stitch was dying because bad programing. Lilo cried. Bad programing had to go so Lilo could be happy." He stated looking lost, missing Pleakley's startled look at the kitchen door.

"Six Two six... You virtual hacked the combat protocols inside brain? And slaved them to Lilo? But brilliant monster's brain organic, not binary?!" The mad scientist boggled. "I knew six two six can be doing anything but..."

"Lilo Love Stitch. Said so. Nothing will harm Lilo. Not even Stitch. Never again." He stated emphatically and suddenly a pair of arms engulfed him.

"Silly. I know that." Lilo whispered squeezing him tightly. "But... Don't sound so grim Stitch. Set a failsafe objective? Protect Stitch. I would rather be hurt than loose you."

"Objective set." He whispered and he felt Lilo smile and hug him tighter.

_**Primary objective**__, Achieved._

_**Tertiary objective**__, in progress._

_**Protectorate Lilo status**__: Green. No threats detected._

_Extrapolating Tactical Data._

_'Silly tactical brain go back to sleep now Stitch busy being hugged.'_

_Energy conservation mode 'shaka', __**engaged**__._

"Anything for you Lilo." He chuckled with a big grin on his face.

Having just tucked her sister in, Nani sat on the edge of Lilo's bed and sighed, content. It was a peaceful image. The two girls looking so much alike, almost like a mother and daughter. Stitch pretended he didn't see or even care about such mush.

The mind numbing absurdity of aliens and experiments and Lilo's off the wall comments had become easy to ignore as exaggerated. She had missed so much and wondered, was it all worth it? She missed being home before Lilo's bedtime. She missed Stitch badly pretending to be asleep so she could have a moment with her sister. She missed so many things.

She had been away too much in her pursuit of a career and money. Did she really neglect her Ohana for... Money? Influence? No she did it because she wanted Lilo to have a good future. But perhaps, when she wasn't looking, Lilo had carved her own.

"I've been a bit of a doo doo head haven't I?" She asked Lilo who considered this for a moment and answered seriously.

"Well.. First of all remove doo doo head from your vocabulary I'm not six any more. And second? No. Not really. You were acting like a grown up, providing for your family. Last year was kind of a slow burn for me and just a bit crazy for you. It happens."

"But I missed things. I... I want to know what my little sister does. I mean. What else have I missed?"

"Myrtle invited me to her birthday party." Lilo offered with a wry smile. "Stitch can come too."

The 'sleeping' alien twitched his ears up, listening in more attentively.

"So you guys are finally friends?" Nani asked gently.

"Well... We've known each other for to long. I still like arguing with her but... It's a bit more civil these days. And I think she likes me cause I don't take crud from her like everyone else does." Lilo laughs. "It's ironic, that's why she _disliked_ me since kindergarten."

"And your ambassador thing? I thought it was purely ceremonial. An excuse to, and I still don't believe I'm saying this, see the galaxy a bit." Nani wondered.

"Well I kept telling you it's a real job. I mean it's not like its hard! Three or four times a month I have to attend some of the council sessions and I spend a couple of hours a week acting as a correspondent liaison between the Galactic Federation and The Agency. Of course Me and Stitch spend the afternoons after the council sessions acting like silly tourists." Lilo said neglecting to mention how hard it was, even with the Grand Councilwoman's help to learn how to navigate the treacherous halls of Diplomacy.

"Agency?" Nani asked.

"Well it's mostly classified but... Well. Let me put it this way. Cobra Bubbles shows up, sees Stitch and tells me to teach him how to be a model citizen? Not a well behaved dog. Citizen."

"You mean they knew?" Nani frowned.

"Well, sort of. Cobra really did retire way back when but then he did a few people some favors and, well. Remember the asteroid incident? It took them a year but they finally made some semblance of a unified alien affairs office. UN basically funds a six person operation that is supposed to keep track of alien activity on a shoestring budget." Lilo laughs, tugging a piece of string from her favorite blanket and waving it around before continuing.

"I've come to understand how Bureaucrats are silly. Anyway last year the Agency finally officially listed me as an External Consultant. They sometimes ask me to liaison with actual aliens and help smooth over any, difficulties. Which is why my honorary ambassador status is a bit more active than most. You didn't think my little chat with the governor and the occasional trip abroad were really school trips did you?"

"I... I tried to pretend you made up or exaggerated things. Even when you got your diplomatic passport. I pretended that it was just silly games like experiment catching." She put up a palm to stop Lilo from complaining. "I know I know, experiment hunting wasn't a game either. I was deluding myself a lot. But Lilo, you have to know how crazy it would have driven me if I thought you were in constant danger of getting squished like a bug. Or getting shot while talking to an illegal alien."

"Like Stitch would let that happen." Lilo denied quietly.

"And when he wasn't there?" Nani interjected. "I have no idea what I was thinking letting you hunt those things."

"You wanna know a secret?" The younger sister asked, slightly shifting the subject.

"Like what?"

"Juumba didn't tell me until I had to change my wardrobe the last time but remember when I first outgrew those twelve identical dresses I had?" Lilo asked.

"You mean those dresses that are identical to the red dresses with the flower print you had Pleakly sew for you when you outgrew the original ones?" Nani tweaked her sister's nose making Lilo squeak in indignation.

"Yeah those. Have you ever wondered how they lasted through almost three years of intense wear and tear?" Lilo questioned.

The elder sister paused to think a frown forming on her face.

"Now that I think about it you destroyed two in the week just before the whole thing started."

"Jumba and Pleakley have been augmenting my clothes." Lilo confessed.

"Augmenting them?" Nani puzzled.

"Stab proof, plasma resistant coating on the fibers. Military grade inertial compensator nano clouds, Inertial dampers in my flip flops." Lilo counted off on her fingers. "It still hurt to fall badly but I haven't had a single broken bone in all that time. Scrapes, bruises, minor burns? Sure, but I fell from some pretty bad heights in my time and walked, or sometimes ran away."

Hairs raising on the back of Nani's head rose. Some of those bruises had been pretty major as she recalled.

"Is my sudden urge to get a time travel machine, go back, wrap you in bubble-wrap and keep you in your room until you are thirty irrational?" the adult wondered jokingly.

"Not really. At some point I plan to actually go back and check on a moment or two when I got _really_ lucky just to make sure it wasn't myself being meddly."

"What?"

"It has to do with rules of time travel theory. If I told you you'd get a head ache. I know I used to get them when trying to wrap my head around it."

"Try me. I'm pretty smart."

"Well I don't know the math involved by heart but I can tell you about hyperspace theory and how it pertains to time travel."

Nani raised an eyebrow and gestured a go ahead even as Lilo recited.

"The reality of matter is like an ocean of higher dimensions and in those higher dimensions space and time only intersect on our plane of existence. Its all in in eight or so dimensions, which kinda means we only use a bit of the whole universe to live in and other parts are for other things. Now our four dimensional space-time can be simplified into a wave on a string using math and really really complicated machinery. It sounds sci fi but some of our scientists already predicted some day beeing able to do this stuff even if they are wrong on the details. They call it Social Singularity or something. Now there are several ways of manipulating time; like temporarily manipulating the flow of time in a certain area to speed it up or slow it down. It's a widely used, if energy intensive process.

Nani nodded as Lilo gestured wildly. It sort of made sense like a bead on a string. _'Um was everything in the universe on the bead or on the string?'_ In the back of her head something rebelled at the kinda creepy subject but she shushed it. Lilo was looking enthusiastic and Nani just smiled and watched her glance at Stitch, then take a deep breath and continue explaining.

"And then there is actual time travel: once you calculate your universe as a string-wave you can rotate that string-wave, in the oceans of space which changes its frequency but not the angles. You can traverse the wave by swimming, surfing or sailing via hyperspace until you find a place to enter or leave it under a specific angle to get back into the place you want. Perfectly safe if you make sure your string-wave is at same frequency as it was where you started. Where time-travel deviates from regular hyperspace travels is that you 'dive' into the ocean and follow the wave-string backwards, exiting under a different angle. Only the same angles aren't always the same, depending on when they are, gravity and something Juumba calls calinity. Which has to do with quantum foam and having computers carefully not observing where you just left and the pilot looking through the view screen carefully watching where he is going. I have no idea why. That Quantum stuff kinda makes my head hurt. But back to time travel: there is only so much small in the universe before it stops being small and becomes space between space, and on that level the string-wave and wave-string can sort of mush together..."

"Uh." Nani considered this and realized she was completely lost. She yawned. "How about we leave this for another time. It's getting kind of late."

"Ok Nani. Good night." Lilo yawned too and snuggled back down.

"Good night Lilo. Sweet dreams." Nani said giving her a kiss and going off to find some aspirin and talk to Juumba. Lilo had been way ahead of her learning grade for years but what had that crazy walrus been teaching her?!

* * *

"Why Lilo lie to Nani?" Stitch whispered from his bed.

"Well it wasn't exactly a lie, Hyperspace theory..." Lilo protested

"Lilo. Time travel not work that way." Stitch looked at her through half lidded eyes.

"Time travel is illegal, crazy dangerous, unpredictable, plain bad and I shouldn't even know the theory. And I'm not putting Nani at risk of even knowing the real deal." Lilo looked back unflinchingly.

"As long as Lilo have good reason." He flops back on his pillow. He could hear her heart beating wildly and he wasn't going to press the issue.

"And I don't want her to know I'm a mass murderer." Lilo whispers and his own heart skips a beat. The blue weapon of mass destruction springs back up and stares shocked at his friend. "Lilo?"

"Erasing a time-line is different than jumping one Stitch. I found the math when we were trying to escape the loop." She says curling up and turning to the wall.

"Energy can't be destroyed." Stitch points out trying to brighten her up.

"And if you turned my body into energy would I exist?" Lilo asks him pointedly.

Silently, Stitch climbs down and settles on Lilo's bed and hugs her shivering form from behind.

"Somewhen." He whispers into her ear knowing it was a cold comfort. Even if a thought matrix was infinite... It wouldn't be them. Not quite. Not really. Dead to the universe.

"Somewhen." Lilo whispers and closes her eyes a single tear leaking through her hard won self control.

**AN:** Everyone thank 'The Unicorn' and 'Hussell' on spacebattles for making reading this less painful for English professors.


	3. Chapter 3

The first rays of the sun poked Lilo in the side like every morning, and like every Saturday morning Lilo turned around and snuggled deeper into her blanket. Then a small thought passed through her head.

_'Nani isn't going to work this morning'_ Lilo's eyes snapped open at this small jolt of adrenaline and her brain instantly zapped to fully awake mode, contingencies upon contingencies building as she though about this new, wonderful reality.

She tossed off her covers and jumped to her feet. She looked at Stitch who was eying her with one eye half open from a cocoon of blankets at the base of her bed.

"You can sleep in if you want. I'm gonna make breakfast and surprise Nani."

At the magic word Stitch was suddenly on his feet and perky as an alien monster about to be fed can be.

* * *

Nani dreamt of surfing on an ocean of time so she wouldn't be late for a crucial meeting. Suddenly a psychic serpent passed under her board and she wiped out, going under. She fell into the ocean of time, down from the sky and right into the mouth of a hungry T-rex. Luckily she had a plasma gun which she aimed with a smirk only to realize it was a clock and that she was late, and naked, while giving a lecture on corporate restructuring.

She woke with a start, sitting in her bed, heart pounding and hands clutching the covers. She flopped down on her pillow and laughed quietly.

"Nani, you lolo!" She chastised herself and glanced at the clock to check the time.

"Oh my god I am late!" Her eyes widened and her scream rang through the house. She rushed across the room to her closet and grabbed the standard 'power suit' pressed shirt and skirt combo she usually wore to work, glad that she had copied her younger sister's 'regular outfit times ten' idea. As she hopped across the room trying to get into the skirt and the shirt simultaneously she froze, still standing on one leg, her shirt dangling from her shoulder and her tie tangled in her hair.

Wasn't she on vacation?

"Ai! I really am lolo!" She slapped her forehead and laughed. Dropping the work outfit on her bed she rooted around in the back of the closet for her old jean shorts and her favorite shirt with relish. After a quick trip to the bathroom to make herself presentable, she made her way downstairs with a content sigh. This morning she was cooking breakfast for the family like she used to and then it was beach time!

The smell hit her as she walked down the hallway from her room. The smell of eggs, bacon and... Was that grilled cheese? Her stomach growled, agreeing with her assessment. Her mouth watering, she entered the kitchen.

"You are a wonder Pleak... Lilo?" She stopped her eyes widening. Her eyes screened the kitchen for disasters and... The kitchen was... Fine. Lilo and Stitch were... Cooking. Without a huge mess. Wearing aprons.

Lilo pulled a large pan off the stove and casually pushed it across the counter to where Stitch balanced on the back of a chair. He simply upended the contents of the pan above the large serving plate. A blurry motion with the knife in his left hand and a dozen equally shaped fried eggs dropped on the plate, sunny side up.

In the meantime Lilo was flicking the other, smaller pan with her wrist and depositing the last pancake on the the moderate stack of pancakes already made. Nani rubbed her eyes and then looked again. Lilo was now casually depositing a soaked slice of bread into the pan.

When Nani looked back at Stitch the large pan had been already rinsed washed, wiped and stacked by the other clean dishes.

The entire sequence took about six seconds.

Closing her almost unhinged jaw Nani walked into the kitchen in wonder.

"Morning Lilo, need a hand?" She asked casually.

"Morning Nani. Yeah, you dip a slice and I'll toast it." She pointed to the bowl with a pale yellow liquid in it and a bunch of bread slices.

"Meega do good?" Stitch asked Nani, grinning madly and glancing at the table where eggs, fried bacon and grilled, no, breaded cheese were waiting keeping warm under a... Nani stared for a moment. Since when did they have a purple force-field?

"Sure Stitch, you did great." Lilo said absentmindedly leaning over to kiss his cheek before she squinted and flipped over a slice of french toast with a fork. "Go wake up Juumba and Pleakley please."

"Hokey-dokey. Here, Nani need apron if help zombie master chef Lilo. Wash hands first!" He teased and headed out tossing his mini size 'kiss the cook' apron to her and sliding the eggs through the glowing force field.

Nani blinked and caught the Stitch sized garment and then looked at Lilo's. It really did say Zombie Master Chef. And was that an image of a wizard frying a brain in a pan? Of course it was. 'Lilo you lolo.' Nani though fondly.

"Nice apron!" Nani chuckled, washing her hands. "I'm not gonna fit into the Stitch sized one tho."

"Normal one's in the third drawer." Lilo replied, still somewhat focused on getting just the right amount of crisp on the toast. She looked so adorable with her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth, eyes all narrowed in concentration.

"So... French toast huh?" Nani asked dipping the sliced bread into the mixture and letting it soak a little.

"Yep, Myrtle likes it and she switched lunch with me once since they were packed with deviled eggs. She hates deviled eggs."

"And, you like cooking now?' Nani asked feeling an odd sense of... something... surreal, like she was dreaming.

"Well, Stitch and I got stuck in a time loop once. Between Pleakley and Juumba away on their convention trip, you having a crazy day at work, takeout refusing to take my order and Gantu jumping us if we went to a restaurant, I got tired of TV dinners. We learned to cope and stopped demolishing the kitchen after two weeks." Lilo chuckled.

"Time loop?" Nani asked with a raised eyebrow. She can't possibly mean...

"Yeah. It turned out that it was not Hamsterviel's temporal stasis trap that was doing it. Apparently Skip, Warpstron and Holio were playing Frisbee and... Well accidents happen."

Nani shuddered. Holio was a black hole generator experiment. Skip pushed you forward in time and she didn't even want to know what an experiment with _warp_ in their name did. She made a mental note that Lilo can be trusted in the kitchen and shoved the rest into the back of her mind for her subconscious to worry over on dark sleepless night. She felt a twinge of guilt about it but she learned over the years ignorance was bliss.

"You know what, I'm not even gonna ask for more details after that sequence of names coming up in a sentence together. New subject: What's with the force-fields and how much electricity are they sucking up?" Nani asked as the sisters took care of the last item on the menu.

"The freshness fields? Just regular kitchen kind. They are feeding directly from the new Zero-Point Energy Generator silly." Lilo giggled at her silly sister. "Why did you think our electricity bill was a negative number silly?"

"Oh... Well I wasn't really checking. Pleakley takes care of the bills from the family expense account. How long ago did Juumba install this?" the older sister asked deciding not to ask precisely what a zero point whatever was. She was afraid Lilo might explain.

Lilo's face scrunched up as she absentmindedly flicked the last piece of French toast.

"Let's see... It was about six months after we finished with experiment hunting and about three weeks after that big fracas at the stadium. You got that promotion and started reading all those 'How to be an executive' books. Budget was a bit tight so I talked to Juumba and forwarded the cash for building a small Zero Point Energy module."

High pitched complaint came from outside and Juumba's growled response sounded a moment later.

"So just before your ninth birthday party. So how come I never saw them?" Nani wondered.

In response Lilo reached for the remote and smiled. With a flicker the stasis field shut off leaving a perfectly ordinary table behind filled with delicious looking food. The smells filled the room and Nani's mouth watered.

"Little girl is that grilled cheese I smell?" Juumba exclaimed as he entered and made a beeline for the table.

"Lilo! You cooked! Oh you should have woken me! I was just telling Juumba how I enjoy us cooking thing together... You know. After you magically stopped demolishing the kitchen that is." Pleakley rambled as he sat down in his seat.

"No you were harping at me about working all night in my lab again and accusing me of building another abomination." Juumba countered. "Is there coffee?"

"Sure is! Fresh pot in the coffee machine!" Lilo announced cheerfully. Eet up guys you will need it! Because after this I have an entire day of fun and games planned." She proclaimed excitement radiating from her in almost palpable waves.

"Oh? Do tell!" Pleakley prompted enthusiastically.

Lilo took a deep breath and launched into an enthusiastic explanation gesturing wildly as she spoke:

"Well first we take the doom buggy to the south beach, have a super soaker war and catch some waves. Around eleven we go avoid the noon day sun in the movie theater and catch the Return of The Son Of The Creature from the Black Lagoon 3 and grab lunch in the Monster. After that it's the north beach for the really awesome waves and a picnic. David should be there by then since I left him a message. And even if he missed the message he should still be there catching the waves and wishing you were there." She winked at her sister who blushed slightly.

"When it gets late me, Juumba and Pleakley head back home on foot. You and David can take the doom buggy and go pretend to watch the sunset and make yucky smoochy noises on the Lover's Cliff." Lilo finished with a wink at her older sister whose blush magically expanded as Juumba roared with a belly laugh and Pleakley giggled.

"Lilo! You..." She paused. "Why is your hair clip flashing and beeping?"

Everyone stopped laughing and looked at Lilo in puzzlement. Lilo took the hair clip off and held it in her hand, looking at it with a confused expression on her face before realization hit her.

"A priority one message!" She exclaimed. "I never got one of those before!"

"Oh yes!" Juumba remembered. "Little girl ask Juumba to modify hair clip with emergency transceiver."

"The Guideline for Galactic Council Personnel states I should have a transceiver on my person at all times in case of emergency." She looked at her family and pressed the top of the flower bud. "And you did it in ten minutes too! Genius."

Her focus was on the innocent looking device in her palm so she missed the questioning look Pleakley gave Juumba who was looking sheepish.

Holographic letter hovered above her palm. "Forwarding." The transceiver flashed and a few moments later the hologram of the grand council woman's visage hovered above Lilo's palm.

"To all voting members of galactic council, and all off duty officers of the Galactic Armada. I am issuing a recall of all personnel and calling forth an emergency session of the Galactic Council per my executive right. All military members report to their duty post or the closest convenient garrison or outpost. Members of the government should contact their liaison office." The hologram flickered and the message repeated.

The silence at the table was deafening and the voice of the councilwoman rang loudly in the silence.

Nani looked at her baby sister with her mouth open. Lilo looked puzzled. And Pleakley checked his communicator for a similar message. He looked at Lilo.

"So why do you get a class 1 emergency message and I don't? At least I am a member of the Security force!" He whined.

"Ha! One eyed wonder get forcibly retired remember! And even if he wasn't fired one eyed wonder was a REMF so no one would notify him anyways."

Nani snapped out of her fugue and promptly got her priorities wrong in the confusion.

"What's a remf?" She asked.

"Well." Lilo started to answer while she shut down the transceiver. "It's an acronym of Rear Echelon Moth..."

Pleakley's hand covered her mouth in a flash reducing the rest of her sentence to an incomprehensible mumble.

"It means a Provisions Officer Nani." He offered with a nervous chuckle. "It still means I should be the highest ranking officer on the planet. Retired or not."

"Well. I probably got this message by mistake" Lilo offered. "I better go contact the liaison office just in case. Maybe they still have me on the books somewhere as a Galactic Agent."

She hustled out of the kitchen and rushed to her room, Stitch following on her heels.

Nani stared after her sister and then her eyes narrowed at her alien family members. "Galactic Agent?"

"Well yes, Lilo didn't know it for some reason but her Monster hunting came with perks. Sure Agent salary is small but the genetic work is excellent." Pleakley smiles oblivious as Juumba motioned behind Nani. "Because of all the deadly scrapes Galactic Agents... get... into..."

Belatedly he realized Mount Nani was close to eruption. "Genetic. Work." She hissed.

* * *

Lilo sat at her galactic issue computer, her head tilted to the side at the anteater-like officer on the other side of the comm-link. Her regular contact officer was on vacation and this intern wasn't making sense.

"I am listed as a what?" She politely asked him to repeat himself. Stitch's ears perked up and pointed at the kitchen. Stitch looked interested in this enough to pause his game-boy.

"A friendly superpower my lady. Your conservatory world does have an army of engines of mass destruction and has a class 1 merit for assisting in the maintenance of galaxy wide peace." He explained looking a little confused. "It's in your file. Your ambassador status makes the Palakai House an important member of the government. And there is a note from the councilwoman to notify you of anything above class 2 emergency. Is something wrong Ma'am?"

"No... Everything is fine. I'll... I'll be there as soon as I organize transport." Lilo finally spoke after a few moments.

"Oh that will not be necessary. A class 1 ambassador shuttle is on its way and will be a your disposal for the duration of the emergency." The alien gushed, sounding pleased with herself.

"Excellent. Ensure that they follow protocol established for landing on my planet." Lilo finally said absentmindedly and missed the alien's eyes widening as she reached for the terminate connection button. "Over and out."

Lilo sat in her chair for a long moment and then glanced at Stitch who just shrugged."That was just weird. Why are your ears all listen-y?"

"Nani is angry." he said.

"Eavesdropping? How rude." She chuckles. "Angry about what?" Lilo asked, puzzled, while digging around her desk drawer for a number.

"Pleakley said wrong things." he chuckled. "Nani think they experiment on you."

"That's just silly. I just got my health shots and get regular tuneup to smooth out any inefficiency. It lasts about ten seconds. What's the big deal?"

"Pleakley said Genetic." Stitch chuckled.

"And Nani thinks they tinkered. Translation issues." She sighed as she dialed a long distance call into the phone. "Haven't had those ever since I started to learn galactic standard the slow way. Uploads are good for emergency but they glitch sometimes and fade over time. I would have thought Pleakley would have learned to use English on his own by now."

Stitch shrugged and went back to his game, hanging upside down from his bed.

"Hello? This is Ambasador Palakai. Oh, hi Miss Smith! Can I speak with Cobra Bubbles? Oh? Well, I need an unscheduled landing clearance for the Ambassador shuttle in Kokawa airport. Yes, it will look like a business jet. Same RFID as last time." She cooed with her well practiced 'diplomat' voice.

"Chutta!" Stitch growled at his video game and Lilo threw a wad of paper at him.

"Thanks a bunch! No that's ok, let him sleep it off. I'm not sure yet. I just got the notice. I don't know. Probably a day or two, it's an emergency session. Yeah. Overtime? Well if it's good for the budget reviews, I'll type up the request when I come back. Thanks Miss Smith." She said politely as the call ended.

"Stiiich! Don't use that kind of language when I'm working!" Lilo complained halfheartedly as slumped on her own bed with a sigh. "There goes the fun and games I had planned."

Stitch looks at her and climbs across the wall and sits on the bed above her head, looming above her.

"Two hours surf time." He says holding up two fingers.

Lilo blinks and then grins.

"You're right Stitch! Why the heck am I sulking! Grab the bug out bag Stitch We're having a morning surf-out!"

With a surge of energy she jumps toward the elevator pad and makes her way downstairs and bursts into the kitchen where Nani is wielding a frying pan.

"...and I will personally rip your mad scientist..." Lilo jumps, all light footed races along the counter pluck the frying pan out of Nani's hand and plops it into the sink and then plants her tush on the counter, trying to look harmless and innocent.

"Lilo!" Nani protests "What do..."

"I was not genetically modified." Lilo explains. "The gene screening just fixes any damage from radiation or disease and such and optimizes the user according to their own DNA template. Like fixing birth defects and stuff. If someone would just hurry up and learn English the slow way they'd stop blundering into verbal errors." Lilo finishes glaring at Pleakley.

"Now we have three hours before I have to leave. You can either spend them beating on these two or we can hit the beach!"

Nani stares at her little hellion sister and then just shakes her head. "I'm sorry Lilo. It's just... Too many new things. My head is..."

"Shh. Come here." Lilo calls her sister closer and Nani steps within reach of an awkward hug. "I'm fine. Nothing can harm me. We just need to spend a bit more time together. I have an idea! Wanna come with?"

Nani blinks. "With you? Um... Up there?"

"Uh... Little Girl..." Juumba starts

"I don't think..." Pleakley hesitates.

"Yeah! You never come up because you have to work! C'mon, you are on vacation! Ple~ease!" Lilo pleads giving her sister the puppy eyes.

"Oh alright." Nani crumbles. "I'll go to to outer space with you." Nani sighs... "I still can't believe I am saying that."

"Great! C'mon, let's hit the beach near Kokawa airport." Lilo tugs her sister.

"Wait! I need to pack! I need my things..." Nani protests but allows herself to be tugged along by her younger sister.

"Ow! Don't grip so tight I'll bruise." Nani complains half halfheartedly and look down at her exuberant sister with a wry grinn as Lilo tones it down a notch. "Have you... uh... joined a gym or something? That's quite a grip."

Lilo looks at her a bit puzzled. "You need to get out of the office sis. You're going soft." She teases poking at Nani's belly.

Nani blinks and then laughs. "Why you little! I'll show you soft!" she exclaims, grabs Lilo and lifts her right over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Eeek! Nani!" Lilo laughs and the two sisters they leave the kitchen with smiles on their faces.

Pleakley and Juumba look at each other.

"It is good to be seeing them like this again." Juumba grumps happily.

"You can say that again. Nani hadn't been this relaxed in months!" Pleakley proclaims, picking up the dishes. He pauses and looks at Juumba for a long moment.

"Did you... you know?" He asks making a vague moment toward the living room.

Juumba slashed his hand through the air. "Of course not!" He denied. "Well..."

"Juumba?" Pleakley frowned.

"I just made sure she was healthy. No changes, no additives, no stimulants. Just a healthy girl. I hardly had to do anything." He said after a moment.

"Hardly?" Pleakley sighed. "Oh Juumba."

"Oh you make it sound like I did something bad. She had thirty seven percent chance of getting bone cancer within 20 years, ninety seven percent chance of stage 3 brain deterioration when she got older. I believe they call it Alzheimer here. Not to mention all the other things most humans deal with." Juumba grumbled.

"I see. What did you do?" Pleakley asked with a sigh, going back to collecting dishes.

"Pulled some strings, got her VIP level genetic screening instead of level 1." He explained.

"Oh. I was afraid you tinkered without asking and I'd have to shoot you." Pleakley said leaning against the counter with a relieved sigh.

"I'd never do that!" Juumba protested and then paused. "Well unless someone was dying. I am a mad scientist after all."

Pleakley chuckled. "So. She's fine?"

"Yes. The screening locked up all the nasty bits. Human DNA is filled with retroviruses, fragments left over from previous species and specializations. Oh don't look at me like that It's normal for their species. They even have natural psionic genes in there! Well, fragments anyway."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Do not own.

Also: This chapter's pow jumps are an experiment. Let me know if it works.

**Chapter 4, A very Nani interlude.**

In the end we hit the beach before we went into outer space. And how crazy is that? Still, I had learned over the years that when Lilo is involved nothing goes the way it is supposed to. I mean she befriended an alien monster and then proceeded to repeat the feat over six hundred times.

I did the math once. She befriended an average of one alien every two days over the course of three years while maintaining a B+ average. And I know on some days she never left the house except for school. I still don't know how she did it. I was there for a small fraction of the kind fracas lilo would often get involved in. It chills my blood now that I imagine what sort of shenanigans I _didn't_ know about. In fact what the hell was I thinking allowing it? How did she talk me into allowing it in the first place?

I glance at my little sister who had pulled ahead while I was daydreaming and reached and opened a door marked _employees only._ I quickened my pace and saw her inside the bare hallway, handing over passports to a man in a black suit. He asked her something and she gestured towards me and the others. I reach for my pocket and realize my passport is gone and before I even have time to think about mentioning this Lilo just hands it to me.

"When did you?" I start to ask and then think better of it. I've been doing that a lot lately, not asking questions. I worry she'd answer and my head would explode. The sound of arguing behind me makes me smile. There they are. Pleakley and Juumba arguing like an old married couple. I never asked them. I don't know enough to ask. Pleakley never blinked at putting on a wedding gown. He _likes_ woman's clothing. Juumba clearly has an interest in females judging from his pin up calendar. Well. I think. Again. Aliens.

They are family but sometimes their patterns of thoughts are so alien applying human views only leads to confusion. So I don't ask. I smile though, seeing Stitch pretend to stagger under the weight of three suitcases and Pleakley dab his forehead with a lacy handkerchief. His wigs have become works of art over the years and I still can't believe _no one_ points out he has only one eye and three legs. I wondered about it from time to time and I realize now. I _could_ ask. They are family. I love them. I may threaten disembowelment from time to time but they know I care.

I packed for an overnight stay and Lilo assured me anything else I needed would be easily acquired. I nod at the government man and he nods solemnly back and just like that we are in a hangar bay. A small van is waiting for us. My eyes widen as more men in government issue suits greet us, hold the door open and generally treat us with more respect then I have ever seen directed at Lilo.

It's oddly dissonant, seeing grown men nod at Lilo and mumble 'Ambassador' or 'Miss' in her direction.

The trip out to the tarmac where the jet waited for us was quick. It was a big jet. Indistinguishable from any I've flown in before and it wasn't until I realized we had stepped into an airlock that it dawned on me this was going to be quite different then an airplane ride.

The airlock was simple. A small, ant eater like alien in uniform greeted us just inside the airlock chattering at Lilo excitedly. My sister responded with a smile and nodded pulling out a pen. The alien grinned and pulled out a... Was that a picture of Lilo?

I was startled when the outer doors sealed with a hiss and my ears popped a little as the pressure changed. Then an odd light washed over us and look Juumba is coming toward me with a needle gun.

"Whoa! Stop. What do you think you are doing?" I said taking a step away from him Lilo's conversation with the alien forgotten.

"Big girl relax it just nanite injection." He said in soothing tones and I blinked. "Lilo?" I asked uncertainly.

"Think of it like booster shots for alien flu." she said casually, smirking at me.

"I better no grow an extra arm or something." I jested and relaxed. Of course. It made sense. I had similar before I traveled to Singapore. Of course this shot looked like a few cc's of mercury. Oh well, alien medicine.

Juumba chuckled and pressed the gun to my shoulder. "Of course not. Extra arms take days to grow and you need special permit for the neurological surgery."

With a hiss the gun discharges and seconds later I feel dizzy. Lilo is looking at me oddly and when the dizziness stops.

"Yuuga Ashi Salaam?" She asked and I blinked at her stupidly. When did she learn that alien gibberish. But... it sounds kinda familiar.

_"Yuuga Ashi_ feeling?" She asked again smiling oddly.

"Hey I _Smish _that._" _I say and blink. That was too many words. _"Smish." _I correct and modify the accent to indicate surprised understanding. Wait a minute.

_"What the heck did you do?!" _ I ask and it comes out as two words. I know it does and yet... I know it doesn't.

"Juumbaaa! Yagga na quista!" I growl waving my purse threateningly. A wave of giggles sounds across the airlock and Juumba coughs trying not to fidget and even as he does I know why it's funny. Instead of saying I would destroy him I used the inflection of _quista _that meant I vowed to conquer him, eh, romantically.

I cough, ignoring the awkwardness and feeling my anger ebb slightly from the embarrassment.

"Juumba. You better explain right now!" I say and it becoming easier to distinguish English and... Tantalog:_ Common/Tradespeak/Diplomatic dialect._ It's actually interesting and I think I know what's going on. I was wondering why every alien seems to know English.

"How on Earth can you _vaccinate_ someone with a language?!" I ask.

Lilo giggles. "They did it to me too the first time I went up. It's a temporary _civilian grade swarm._" She explains and I understand. Which is odd. Because I never knew before that nano-machines act like a big organism with massive computing power.

"_Basically the swarm has two tasks. One is to map all organisms inside you and stop most biological forms from entering and leaving your body. It also taps into your cortex, maps your linguistic center and temporarily grants knowledge of language without causing modifications to your cortex." _Juumba explains eloquently. _  
_

He spoke Tantalog and I understood it all. I smiled as the odd lights turned off and the airlock opened.

_"Enter and be welcomed."_ the small alien spoke as it ushered us into the ship proper, looking contrite with her drooped ears and slumped shoulders. _"I apologize for not knowing your language there was no time to pick up the skill." _

_"Don't worry about it." _I responded absentmindedly, trying to work through the odd dual sensation and passed my finger along the outer edge of her left ear as I passed, my hand almost moving on it's own._ "I am sure you did your best."  
_

I only realized I did something odd whe I saw Lilo beaming. There was an odd buzz in the back of my head, and I blinked trying to ignore it.

I stepped into the space ship proper awaiting new wonders and distractions and was promptly disappointed by how normal everything looked. I traveled in the executive jet once and it was similar to this. I had weirder things in my house! Perhaps the galaxy wouldn't be all _that_alien after all. Now if only this translator thing stopped buzzing.

* * *

I stared, wide eyed at the blue planet below her unable to find the words. It was so... blue. I smile to myself. I'm so not a poet.

"Pretty isn't it?" Lilo asked quietly and I just nodded dumbly. Intellectually I knew I'd be able to see this. Emotionally...

The pictures didn't do it justice. It was indescribable. There was a feeling pressing against my chest and I must have been smiling like and idiot. I finally giggled like a teenager and grabbed my crazy little sister.

"Come here you!" I laughed, engulfing her in a big hug, my eyes never leaving the observation window. "You were right. This is priceless."

Lilo giggled and tried to squirm out of my dreaded 'octopus grip' halfheartedly. And then she uttered a completely harmless sentence.

"Wanna see Mars next?"

I froze and slowly looked down at her innocent smile. I think the little monkey was doing it on purpose.

"Oh... Sure. It'll be fun. Do we have time?" I questioned, trying for nonchalance. "I got the impression earlier that we were in a hurry."

"Yeah. We can't take too long but we can see them all." Lilo explained as she went to the comfy looking seats nearby and sat down pressing a button. _"This is ambassador Pelekai. My sister has never been off planet. Can we make an outward micro jump spiral and see each of the planets on the way out? Skip Eyarrth. 1 cycle per planet."_

There was a small delay, barely perceptible, as a little thought, clearly not my own informed me that one cycle translated into a little more than ten minutes. It was an odd feeling, like I had a passenger looking over my shoulder, explaining things. A technological peanut gallery._  
_

The comm system pinged and the cheerful reply came through, loud and clear. _"Copy that Ambassador. Is there any specific orbit you wish to see?"_

I smiled. The tiny captain was so enthusiastic and helpful and Lilo seemed to think so as well._  
_

"_Thank you Captain. Do what you think is best, I trust you training ans skill." _Lilo spoke into the com and winked at me. She was laying it on a bit thick but I understood why. It would make the enthusiastic captain smile.

I sit back, peering out the window again on my way to tour the solar system and then travel faster than light into the center of the galaxy or Pele knows where and... and it was OK. I mean I was used to wierd. And I _was_ curious as to what Lilo does out there. It couldn't be that bad after-all.  
_  
_

* * *

"So _What's Nani up to?" _Stitch asks when Lilo arrives in the bar area. He had politely kicked out the bartender and was mixing the drinks himself. Lilo felt that the bow tie was a nice touch.

"She's been quiet since we passed Neptune." Lilo explains, sits herself at the bar and lets the chair adjusted itself to perfect height for me. Enjoying how the galaxy adjusted for multiple species. "She's staring out at the hyperspace ocean. The captain said we can push out to military speed but I told him not to. _Under_ is safer for observers to gaze out."

Stitch nods wisely knowing how weird hyperspace could get.

_"What'll it be oh great ambassador?" _He inquires, looking playfully at Lilo, shifting into the polite, neutral kinesis most professional bartenders employ to avoid offending any specific alien group.

_"Virgin Blaster please." _Lilo asks, snapping her arm and wrist in as close an imitation of an Arkanian 'command to an inferior menial' gesture as a human could manage. Then she fails to keep up the haughty look and giggles.

_"One Superspicy, minus the narcotics, coming right up!" _Stitch chuckles as he hits the dials and then mixes the rainbow-y drink. "Lilo make great Arkanian. Good practice for crazyland."

"Yeah. They like me because I relate to them on their level. And don't call them crazy. They're just _look _crazy to our culture."

* * *

Nani was surprised at how quick the hyper-flight was, barely an hour and she could see a small space station off their port window. It was very busy with spaceships arriving, departing and circling. She felt like she was watching a movie. And the space ships! She understood, in theory that there were many alien races in the universe but this was the first time she had seen such diversity. Oh, most ships vaguely resembled some sort of sea animal, but some... There was a creepy looking ship with six spider-like arms, and there off the side... A flashing Jellyfish? In space? And that crystal ship over there would make Swarovski cry with envy.

As the airlock opened Nani tried not to gawk at the tall alligator-like person and the pale pink, feminine and vaguely feline attendants, all dressed in, essentially, loincloths hanging from their belts and bikini-like tank tops both made from some shimmery material, a few shades darker then their fur.

They looked very excited, ears perked up and eyes gleaming. Nani was startled at how her translator echoed her own recognition of what the body language meant.

Lilo stepped out of the airlock first, Stitch to the side and all of the aliens bowed at about 45 degrees, which, Nani ralised with a start, translators translated as the least bow of great reverence, usually used to show great respect for people just barely below planetary ruler status. The crocodile spoke as he bowed.

_"Welcome,_ once again ambassador Pelekai." He intoned jovially as Lilo stepped out of the airlock and the room beyond.

"Ardesh, you old rascal." Lilo smiled, bowing less then the crocodile did, and Nani's interpreters piped up and informed her Lilo considers the crocodile a friend and equal. "Um, Isn't it unusual for you to hire..." She adds glancing at the girls behind the crocodile before her eyes light up in recognition.  
"Malia? And friends!"

A murmur of excitement went through the felines at this and the crocodile laughed waving Lilo past while Stitch seemed reluctant to step past the airlock. Lilo had no such reluctance and was hugging the girls and nuzzling cheeks, very close greeting among feline species, Nani's translator enlightened her. Lilo was chattering a mile a minute with the feline voices complementing her own as she masterfully divided her attention among six different friends in a cacophony of excited babble.

It brought a vague smile to Nani's face as she looked at Pleakley expectantly.

"Don't look at me. All I know is there were some nasty pirates, pastries, a bucket of paint mixed with jury rigged explosives and now this pard of Deluvians like Lilo and Stitch a lot." Pleakley flailed his arms defensively.

"So why is Stitch hiding from them?" Nani asked, looking at the felines more closely. They seemed bipedal but then one of them dropped to all fours and bumped Lilo playfully. One of them, the one the rest were deferring to was pink with faint lavender stripes while the rest were almost identical but with differently shaded stripes of pink ranging from deep fandango, some french rose all the way to lavander so pale it may as well be white.

"Oh my little monster is being too young to join a Hareem." Juumba laughed and scratched his chin. "Or was that form one? I never got the details."

"They are his girlfriends?" Nani asked astonished. Intellectually she knew Stitch was his own person but... A part of her still thought of him as Lilo's pet.

"Possibly... Or maybe Lilo's. I can never be telling with felinoids they all so touchy-feely. Yeesh!" Juumba proclaimed with a shudder.

Nani felt a wave of dizziness at this proclamation and took a step out of the airlock, bowing hastily at the crocodile missing his eyes widening. She stopped behind her errant sister and coughed, her arms crossed across her chest, leg tapping impatiently. The chatter ebbed as everyone looked at her.

"Oh hey Nani." Lilo smiled.

"Hello Lilo. Can you introduce me to your _poochipai?_" Nani inquired somewhat sternly, eying the suddenly blushing felines surrounding her sister.

Lilo blinked at her sister's misuse of Tantalog and chuckled. "Ah, sorry Nani. This is Mailia of the Caradin house, the pard alpha. And these are her _pard, _and my friends, Inara, S'aliki, Mirwen, Asirra and Jassi'in." She tilts her head at her sister's unreadable expression. "And I'm a bit young for dating so the correct plural is _Pochipii_, I think your nanites are still a bit off."

Nani wondered about what the hell the difference was as the peanut gallery in the back of her head was no help at all.

_Poochipai_, plural of poochipe, indicative of strong emotional and romantic attachment. _Pochipii_, plural of Poochipoo indicating of close emotional involvement, platonic friendship, casual erotic interest or pre-courting stage of formal betrothal as indicated by length of the final consonant.

Like that cleared anything up. And judging by the glint in Lilo's eyes she is actually messing with her.

_"I'm not even going to try to untangle the correct accents of that."_ Nani frowned and continued in English. "Just so we are clear, you are not allowed to _date_ until you are at least 14, no erotic interest of any sort until you turn 18 and no harems until you turn oh, I don't know? A hundred or so." She says flicking her little sister's forehead and enjoying her suddenly turning scarlet. 'Mess with me will you!' She thought with satisfaction while carefully locking the very idea of a teenage Lilo behind a steel wall in the back of her mind.

Nani noticed the feline's curious looks and smiled at the girls, bowing slightly figuring it couldn't hurt. "_Hello. I the squirt's sister. You can call me Nani."_

* * *

It was an odd hour following debarkation. The paperwork was surprisingly quick although there was a three minute witing period as my nanites were tested. After they finished the officers were really quiet and rubber-stamped everything. Intellectually I am beginning to understand that Lilo is the sort of bigwig I schmooze for funding and that I have recently jumped up a few circles of social strata.

It was oddly dissonant and took higher levels of mental cognizance to take everything in. The transport hover car that took us into the heart of the station, the people on the street that were at once familiar and utterly alien. I watched a couple argue on the street and from the body language I could tell the guy was being chewed by his creeche-wife out for flirting with an alien. And yet the wife was waving pseudopods and yelling in _color._

Everywhere I looked it was the same. It was alien. Yet similar enough to be _weird.__  
_

I didn't anticipate that Lilo had duties to attend to and it was nice of Malia to volunteer to show me around the station 'while the boring diplomacy rituals and paperwork were settled'. Lilo was being a mother hen and in an odd role reversal giving Malia a list of things to avoid doing and what to feed me. I could feel a smile slowly appear on my face as I realized she was getting close to what I usually wrote on the list I gave to my babysitter.

"I'll see you soon Nani! Be good." She admonished and with a hug and a kiss Lilo vanished intto the transport and I was left with a confused Malia looking at the list and then at me with a befuddled look on her face. I hardly noticed the nanites now, the thoughts and explanations flowing easily. I was feeling oddly energetic and in a burst of understanding I realized why Lilo always drove me nuts. Be good. Really, like i'd do something crazy at the drop of a hat. Silly Lilo.

_"So, what's there to do on an alien station with a diplomat level access and..." _I ask with a rakish grin and glance down at the cred chit I was given._ "a thousand credits to burn?"_

Something niggled in the back of my head about the number but I couldn't quite recall what. It probably wasn't important. Malia's sharp, toothy smile, the eager perk of her ears and the way her tail swayed let me know I had modified my body language and speech well and that she understood me _precisely_ as she tossed the list over her shoulder.

**AN:**

Many thanks to Hussel and The Unicorn over at spacebattles for eradicating errors with laser like percision. They and everyone else at the 'Lilo's War' discussion thread make this chapter happen.**  
**


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